With winter upon us, let's talk about an amazing plant that has been used for centuries to treat and prevent disease and illness on a wide spectrum.

The Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) is the biggest conifer native to eastern North America. The tree can be identified by its long, soft, blue-green needles. Eastern white pine is the only white pine in the Eastern U.S. that bears five needles to a bundle. These bundles form clusters that look like little brushes.

It is a fast-growing evergreen and reaches 80 feet in height and 40 feet in width when mature, adding 2 to 3 feet every year. Eastern white pine has a lifespan of 200 years.

White Pine Needles are one of my favorite plants to make medicine from. They have such a diverse range of benefits that make it an essential part of daily use as well as in the treatment of many illnesses.

They have been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years, and are a great source of vitamin C and can be used to treat many ailments, including headaches, stomachaches, arthritis pain, inflammation (including swelling) and much more. White pine has served as a natural remedy for cough, chest congestion, bronchitis, laryngitis, and other upper respiratory tract infections. It is packed with impressive polyphenols that can help repair damaged skin, decrease fine lines and wrinkles, and steps up the game of collagen and skin elasticity to give you younger-looking skin.

Pine needle extracts are a great natural remedy for fungal infections such as thrush or other kinds of yeast infections, and you can use these both internally as well as externally. If you are suffering from athlete's foot or any kind of fungal infection, pine needle extracts can help stop it from spreading. It can also be used as an an internal or external treatment for ringworm and other fungal infections that affect the skin, and for psoriasis and eczema too. You can use pine needle tea, tinctures or salves and lotions to soothe the itching and inflammation associated with these conditions, helping your skin to heal faster.

But Suramin is probably the star when it comes to white pine needles. It is a powerful anti parasitic and anti viral and has been used for hundreds of years to treat a multitude of illnesses including African Sleeping Sickness and River Blindness. Clinical trials have shown it to inhibit HIV replication and to treat many other RNA viruses. It has also been shown in lab studies to bind to ACE2 receptors of the COVID 19 spike protein and can stop replication of the SARS virus.

The amount of Vitamin C found in White pine needles exceeds that of orange juice and was even used to cure scurvy for many years before modern vitamin supplements were created. 
Taken as an extract or a tea, white pine needles are a fantastic ally for building a strong and healthy immune system.

It also has many topical benefits as well, Use pine needle salve to soothe sore, tired muscles and tension headaches as well as on painful joints, minor abrasions or swollen injuries. You can also use it as a chest rub to help with chest congestion. 

I love White Pine and all of the amazing things that it can do for your health! It is one of the staples in my apothecary and it should be in yours too!

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Pine Needle Products

White Pine needles have a plethora of beneficial properties to soothe everything from colds and flu to sore and tired mscles to headaches. Get White Pine Needle products below!